Letters in the Editor’s mailbag

Saturday

Sep 24, 2011 at 12:01 AM

Death penalty is a ‘broken system’

Georgia just executed a man despite well-established, serious doubts about his guilt. Even pro-death penalty figures such as former Congressman Bob Barr, R-Ga., and former FBI Director William Sessions publicly pleaded on Davis’ behalf.

Seven of the nine witnesses who testified against Davis recanted or contradicted their testimony. Yet, in a case that relied hugely on witnesses, the crumbling of witness credibility failed to cause the system to say, “Too much doubt – we can’t take a human life.”

That is why capital punishment is a mistake. There are too many problems with the court system to be certain that the penalty is being applied only to guilty people, or that it is being applied fairly. Davis’ case shows that common sense isn’t certain to prevail during the appeals process, and that appeals courts give too much deference to the initial trial results, even though things like politics and insufficient public defender resources sometimes taint verdicts. Even if someone supports the death penalty in theory, in practice there’s too much uncertainty and politics in the system to permit its conscientious use.

At minimum, we need a national moratorium on all executions while a blue-ribbon panel evaluates whether this broken system can be fixed. This is a moral issue, not one of liberal or conservative politics. Illinois enacted a moratorium under a Republican governor. Oregon should do so now.

Shouldn’t we shudder at the realization that if Troy Davis was innocent, the people who organized his death committed murder?

Rabbi Maurice Harris

Eugene

Utility information is misleading

As a customer of a public utility (Eugene Water & Electric Board) I feel I deserve something more than a blatant misrepresentation of the facts from the industry’s chief lobbyist. Contrary to Scott Corwin’s Sept. 10 opinion piece (“No need to rethink salmon plan that pays healthy returns”), U.S. District Judge James Redden ruled the plan for Columbia River and Snake River salmon illegal, deeming it “arbitrary and capricious.”

For their 10-year plan, the federal agencies have no stated actions to improve salmon habitat after 2013. Snake River salmon populations still hover at 2 percent of their historic numbers and the federal agencies remain well below even their own minimum recovery goals for each species of salmon and steelhead in the Columbia and Snake rivers listed under the Endangered Species Act. The “record returns” Corwin touts makes me wonder: Compared to what? I’m no expert but I have a hard time trusting salmon analysis by the head of a utility lobby.

Ultimately what is of most concern is Corwin’s unwillingness to sit down and discuss new ways forward. The salmon issue has been in court for well over a decade. Energy ratepayers are footing the bill for salmon policies that aren’t following the law. Talks that include all stakeholders and look at all options have not occurred. It’s time for the Northwest congressional delegation to bring the parties — farmers, fishermen, energy users — together to hash out a lasting solution.

Devin Monte

Eugene

GOP borrows from the communists

Thanks for the fine editorial Sept. 20 that clears the smog spread by today’s Republicans to preserve their wealth and privilege in our democratic society.

“Class warfare,” as it is used by Republicans today, is a concept that came out of the Heritage Foundation, a conservative Republican think tank formed in the 1980s. It is used to discredit any attempt to have corporations and the rich pay their fair share for the general welfare of our society.

Some readers may not be aware that early scholars in the Heritage Foundation earned their spurs in ideological conflict with communism. They are importing and misusing a concept of “class warfare” that has its source in Karl Marx and was long a pillar of communist political propaganda. Thus, ironically, Republicans are trying to misapply a communist concept to our very different American political reality.

Lewis R. Luchs

Eugene

Eugene thumbs its nose at farmers

I see the city of Eugene can burn fields inside the city limits. It amazes me what the city can get away with. When the farmers used to burn their fields all hell broke lose. I wonder how many people whined about Tuesday’s burn to the Lane Regional Air Protection Agency? I’d guess zero.

Oh, I know, it was to protect some Fender’s blue butterflies, which no one in their lifetime has ever seen. And of course Kincaid’s lupine, whatever that is. It just boggles the mind.

I remember working summers for John Hayworth between Harrisburg and Coburg. I loved it when we had a south wind and we could burn; I loved it even more when the wind changed and blew south.

Maybe the grass seed farmers should just tell the state Department of Environmental Quality that they have a blue butterfly on their land and they need to burn their fields to save it. I’m going to do my part — if I ever see a Fender’s blue butterfly in my yard I’m going to hit it with Raid.

Glenn McMullen

Eugene

Bozievich wants to undo the county

I wish The Register-Guard would not simply report inaccurate statements by Lane County Commissioner Jay Bozievich and County Administrator Liane Richardson. Newspapers should not be mere mouthpieces for bad information but an outside lens into the activities of local government.

Case in point: The Sept. 20 story on why the county should stop issuing resolutions that bring awareness to important local issues and connect Lane County to larger movements to address those issues. Bozievich and Richardson stated that the resolutions cost the county between $500 and $1,000 each, mostly in “staff time.” That’s not true.

I worked for local nonprofits for many years. Anytime we brought a resolution to the commissioners we had to turn it in ready to go; all the commissioners had to do was read it and discuss it. We then used the resolutions as part of local awareness campaigns relating to issues of child abuse and domestic violence. Resolutions show that addressing issues is important — and worthy of a partnership between the government and the people.

The real story here is not about resolutions at all. It is about the systematic dismantling of Lane County government by former Libertarian Bozievich.

On Sept. 14 the Bozievich-led commissioners eliminated the citizen-led Vegetative Management Committee (on a 3-2 vote) that ensured there is a watchdog group making sure we are not poisoned by pesticides. The real story, the one the newspaper must focus on, is the gradual breakup of county government by Bozievich.

Caroline Madigan

Eugene

Fox News is ‘not worth watching’

The debate over whether the Eugene Airport should show both CNN and Fox News on its TVs is an apples-and-oranges question. CNN is a news station and Fox is a propaganda station, where accuracy and honesty are not high priorities.

I would encourage folks with access to computers to go to Google and type in “University of Maryland news study.’” They will find dozens of Web sites referring to the university’s independent study last year that showed people who get their news primarily from Fox are the most misinformed in the country.

The study shows what most of us have believed for years: Fox News is not worth watching. So the question of which TV news stations are being shown at the airport is valid. Why should anyone be subjected to false and misleading information when valid news sources are available with just a click of the remote.

It really isn’t a question of Candy Neville “not being able to handle the truth,”’ as William Vigil asserted in his Sept. 22 letter. It’s more about being able to get accurate and honest news, and that has been proven to be much more difficult with Fox.

Hank Perry

Eugene

Watch for the light

When we finally accept that our government is not a “government of the people, by the people, for the people,” we will then see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Steven E. Hunnicutt

Eugene

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